Getting Back to Basics

I am a horrible journal keeper. Like, the worst. I have all these entries I tell myself I am going to write in my personal journal and then I never have time to write them down. Truth be told, I find I don't have enough time for the things that should matter more in my life and I spend way to much time not doing enough good.

For the past few weeks my heart has been pulling at some thoughts on what I needed to do-but I couldn't figure them out (which we all should know by now led me to frustrations-thats my key word.) Luckily for me, I find that the Lord loves me so perfectly he knows how to let me work it out on my own. There was a quote in the Gospel Essentials manual that just resonated in my heart at church yesterday:

“When a man has the manifestation from the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased. It is Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force. A manifestation of an angel, or even of the Son of God himself, would impress the eye and mind, and eventually become dimmed, but the impressions of the Holy Ghost sink deeper into the soul and are more difficult to erase” -Joseph F. Smith

I just love this-because I know it to be true. Its like the concept of 'writing truth on your heart' or having it in the 'marrow of your bones'. My testimony has become this over the years-It is so much a part of who I am that daily I find all I want to do is be so much better. But unfortunately, I'm human and I have  a lot of inadequacies and flaws-the worst being my stubborn streak of independence. This has served me well in life-it pushed me away from home, through school, and to where I am now. However, I need so much to learn to bridle these stubborn acts of control and let others (most importantly God) have the opportunity to help me become better.

Its this desire that has been working up in my soul-because I am so busy that I don't make time to be led. My schedule is always packed-I 'go-go-go'. And that removes the opportunity for spontaneity, for increased study/reflection, and for service. Conference was so good for my soul-I felt like there were certain things that were said just for me (love it when the spirit does that). The thing is, I know that my personality and who I am will always be a little busy-but I'd rather be busy with the Lord's errand than my own.

So I decided to step back and re-evaluate where I am and where I can go. And as I did, my action plan started developing in my brain. I was inspired in part by Benjamin Franklin and George Albert Smith and in part by my friends Jessica and Andrea. I created a standard that I wanted for my life-words that I would want to be associated with me. Its like my own personal mission statement for my life. It was a great opportunity to really look inside myself and see what matters most to me. And since writing it out-everytime I hear one of the words, I just get this excitement running through me-I get to keep working on that and improving.

Somedays are better then others. Today was not as good. But luckily there is always an opportunity to keep doing better. And I love that I get those opportunities. (that we all get those opportunities)